The Dreamers of Day

All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. –T.E. Lawrence

I love a good quote, and this is very possibly my favorite. T.E. Lawrence (you may know him as Lawrence of Arabia) led an interesting life. He was an archeologist, a member of the British Army, the Royal Air Force, and the Foreign Office. He was a military liaison during the Arab Revolt, a POW, and an author. He experienced and accomplished things most people can only dream of.

Like Lawrence, I too am a dreamer. I am optimistic about the future and my place in it. And like Lawrence, I want to be a day-time dreamer. I don’t to end my days here on earth with a lot of unfulfilled dreams. I don’t want to waste my potential simply dreaming about making a difference; I want to be a man of action.

This is the time of year when lots of people make resolutions…to lose weight, exercise more, or spend quality time with the family. Other resolutions involve our career. We might resolve to be a better leader, a better employee, or a better coworker. We might dream of getting organized, being more proactive, and more productive.

But history has shown that the vast majority of resolutions fail. Within a month or two, the promises made at the start of the New Year will fade from memory. They were but dreams, with no real intent behind them.

To be the kind of dreamer Lawrence talks about, you can’t just think about your goals. You can’t just come up with a half-hearted plan. You have to be more intentional than that. You have to act. You have to step into your dream with open eyes.

Dream. Plan. Act.

The dangerous men Lawrence alludes to aren’t reckless. They aren’t out to cause harm. The reason they are dangerous is that they actually do what they say they are going to do. Most people never muster the actions needed to back up their words. They don’t act on their dreams, so when someone actually does – it’s scary. We feel threatened, intimidated, maybe even embarrassed by our own lack of dangerous-ness.

My challenge for you this New Year is to join me in becoming dangerous. Let’s act on our dreams with eyes wide open and make them possible.